Highlights
- Game of Thrones and its prequel House of the Dragon feature various Valyrian steel weapons, including Jon Snow's Longclaw and the catspaw dagger Arya Stark used to kill the Night King.
- The Valyrian steel dagger has a complex history and changes hands multiple times throughout the Game of Thrones universe, from Viserys Targaryen to Baelish and eventually to Arya Stark.
- The ownership of the Valyrian steel dagger becomes a point of contention, with the Starks mistakenly believing Tyrion Lannister tried to assassinate Bran, ultimately leading to Baelish's downfall.
Game of Thrones and its prequel, House of the Dragon, features exquisite weapons fashioned out of Valyrian steel, and castle-forged steel. Jon Snow's Longclaw, House Tarly's heirloom sword, Heartsbane, and the lost Lannister relic - Brightroar are among the most important Valyrian steel weapons in the Game of Thrones universe.
While swords are the standard weapon in HBO's Game of Thrones, especially among the Westerosi knights, the Valyrian steel dagger that Arya Stark used to kill the Night King, has a history of its own. Also known as the catspaw dagger, the weapon predates the timeline of Game of Thrones, and is seen in Viserys' possession in House of the Dragon. The iconic dagger changed quite a few hands in the Game of Thrones universe, and here is how it fell into Arya Stark's possession.
Game of Thrones: The Magical Sword Lightbringer, Explained
Who forged the magical sword Lightbringer in Game of Thrones lore, and what's the tale of Azor Ahai got to do with it?
House Of The Dragon: From Aenar Targaryen To Aegon II Targaryen
The fifth King from the ruling Targaryen dynasty of Westeros, and Princess Rhaenyra's father, Viserys I carried the Valyrian steel dagger in the Game of Thrones prequel series. In House of the Dragon season 1, episode 4 "King of the Narrow Sea," he put it to younger brother, Daemon's throat when the latter expressed the desire to wed Rhaenyra, in the tradition of House Targaryen.
In the same episode, King Viserys summoned Rhaenyra to his chambers and used the catspaw dagger to point out the gravity of naming her heir. Rhaenyra was about to touch the dagger when he said:
That dagger once belonged to Aegon the Conqueror. It was Aenar's before that. And before that, it is difficult to know.
Aegon I was the first Targaryen king of the Seven Six Kingdoms and one who united most of Westeros into one political unit. He was the descendant of the Targaryen patriarch, and the dragonlord, Aenar who fled Valyria twelve years before its Doom after paying heed to his daughter Daenys' prophetic dream about the fate of Valyria. In House of the Dragon, Viserys adds:
Before Aegon's death, the last of the Valyrian pyromancers hid his song in the steel...
Rhaenyra removes the blade from the brazier, and reads the aglow inscription:
From my blood, come The Prince That Was Promised and his will be the Song of Ice and Fire.
She looks at her father in search of an answer, and Viserys answers that the responsibility he has handed to her by naming her successor is no child's play:
The responsibility I have handed to you, the burden of this knowledge, is larger than the throne, the king, it is larger than you and your desires
Viserys' words are a callback to the moment he relayed Aegon's dragon dream/prophecy to Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 1 "The Heirs of the Dragon." Later, in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 7 "Driftmark," Queen Alicent Hightower grabs the Valyrian steel dagger from Viserys and attempts to maim Rhaenyra's son, Lucerys Velaryon for damaging her son, Aemond's eye:
Where is sacrifice? It's trampled under your pretty foot again! And now you take my son's eye, and to even that, you feel entitled.
She charges at Lucerys but Rhaenyra blocks her and has her left forearm injured in the process. After Viserys' death, the Valyrian steel dagger remains with the Greens. Moments before his coronation in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 9 "The Green Council," Alicent presents it to Aegon in the royal carriage. He takes a good look at it and carries it to the Dragonpit.
Game Of Thrones: The Catspaw To Arya Stark
In the original series, the Valyrian steel dagger puts a political spin on things. In Game of Thrones season 1, episode 2 "The Kingsroad," the dagger is wielded by a Northman - a catspaw sent to assassinate Bran Stark. Bran's mother, Lady Catelyn, who is present in Bran's room, holds him off and has her hands bloodied by the dagger blade while the direwolf, Summer, rips his throat open. Because of this failed assassination, Catelyn concludes that Bran didn't fall from the tower but was thrown:
Someone tried to kill him twice. Why? Why murder an innocent child? Unless he saw something he wasn't meant to see.
She suspects the Lannisters are behind the assassination, while Ser Rodrik Cassel adds:
Did you notice the dagger the killer used? It's too fine a weapon for such a man. The blade is Valyrian steel, the handle dragonbone.
Catelyn carries the Valyrian steel dagger and rides to King's Landing to convey the news of the assassination attempt to her husband, Ned Stark. She and Ser Rodrik arrive in the city, and are directed to Petyr Baelish's establishment in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 3 "Lord Snow," where the Master of Whisperers, Lord Varys, greets her:
Did you bring the dagger with you, by any chance?
Varys says he knows nothing of the dagger's owner, while Baelish claims ownership:
There's only one dagger like this in the Seven Kingdoms — it's mine.
He adds that he lost it to Tyrion Lannister:
At least it was, until the tournament on Prince Joffrey's last nameday. I bet on Ser Jaime in the jousting, as any sane man would. When the Knight of the Flowers unseated him, I lost this dagger.
The dagger's ownership remains a bone of contention and the Starks are made to believe that Tyrion tried to assassinate Bran. Catelyn narrates the story to Ned, and hands her the dagger, while her old friend, Baelish, promises to protect him for her.
The Valyrian steel dagger remains in Ned's possession, while he simultaneously figures Robert Baratheon has no trueborn sons. The king is on his deathbed and the dagger reminds him of the Lannisters' hand in throwing Bran off the tower. Joffrey succeeds while Baelish conspires against Ned. In a quick move, he seizes his dagger, puts it to his throat, and goes:
I did warn you not to trust me.
The Valyrian steel dagger remains with Baelish until season 7 when he gifts it to the Three-Eyed Raven/ Bran at Winterfell:
This is for you. The last man who wielded it meant to cut your throat , but your mother fought him off .
Bran examines the dagger and asks:
Do you know who this belonged to?
Baelish replies:
That very question was what started the War of the Five Kings. In a way, that dagger made you what you are today. Forced from your home, driven out to the wilds beyond the Wall.
Bran has no use of the dagger, and he gives it to Arya in Sansa's presence. Later in Game of Thrones season 7, episode 7 "The Dragon and the Wolf," the dagger brings Baelish's downfall, as Sansa deduces his role in the conflict between the Starks and the Lannisters. She Sansa puts Baelish on trial for murder and treason, and Arya holds out the dagger and says:
You told our mother this knife belonged to Tyrion Lannister. But that was another one of your lies. It was yours.
Arya slays Baelish and uses the dagger to kill the Night King in the climax of the Battle of Winterfell. She carries it with her as he readies to sail the West of Westeros in Game of Thrones season 8, episode 6 "The Iron Throne."
The dagger should reappear in House of the Dragon season 2 and, as of now, it remains to be seen how the show utilizes this regalia.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, tells the sprawling story of warring families in Westeros. This includes the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens. Along with human conflicts, Westeros is also threatened by the re-emergence of dragons, and an undead enemy from beyond the Wall.
